The-Story-Of-Terrey-Hills-Duffys-Forest Book.Pdf
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WQe �tnru nf Werreu lflills anh iuffus lfl'nrest 1805-1988 <&an Jlalsttah Afar from bustling crowds and busy stir And streets which limit air and sky and space, I see the bush roads winding o'er the spur To which the rover turns his eager face. He needs must listen when the far roads call, That skirt some crystal stream thro' ferny glade On through forests where the dead leaves fall, And soft and cool's the shaded pathway made. From 'Bush Roads', Charles Daley Commissioned by Australian Geographic and published in the Bicentenary year of 1988 by Nungurner Press Pty Ltd Copyright©l988 G. E. Halstead ISBN O 9593401 1 4 Printed in Australia by Macarthur Press Sales Pty Limited This book is copyright. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without prior permission of the publisher. By the same author: 77,e Story of Merung The Story of Sr. Ives (N. S. W.) Foreword Although I have lived in Terrey Hills for indeed fortunate to live in such beautiful in our community. The inspirational souls only ten years, my association with the area surroundings and to be part of a close-knit who lead the Progress Association and other goes back to 1959 when, as part of my community whose members tend to know community organisations are witness to this. Queen's Scout Award, a two-day bushwalk each other and are quick to offer help when it And we can still close off the streets for took me through Duffys Forest. Five years is needed. It is fortunate that the community billycart races, as we did recently. All this, later I joined the Coal and Candle Bush Fire spirit this book chronicles is very much alive we believe, is more important than Brigade, and in 1967 I installed the two-way today, the kind of spirit that fired Ruby development or change. radio equipment for the production of the Duncan to become involved in everything It gives me great pleasure to be involved Skippy TV series at Waratah Park. from the Housewives Association and the with this history of Terrey Hills and Duffys In those days I never thought I would one Women's Pioneer Society to the building of Forest. I commend Gay Halstead for her day make the area both my home and place of the community hall. Her compassionate idea important record and I am proud to be work. Like others, I was lured by what seemed of housing destitute women from the city in associated, through Australian Geographic, a delightful contradiction: here was a place converted old buses near her property in with its publication. with a country-town atmosphere, surrounded Terrey Hills is an inspiration to us all. by a magnificent expanse of bush, and yet it We people of Terrey Hills and Duffys Dick Smith was only half an hour's drive from the Sydney Forest may tend to resist change - heaven Founder Harbour Bridge! help a developer who proposes a hotel or Australian Geographic Society And that is exactly how it is. We 'Terrey other major project for the area - and Hillbillies' (as some people call us) are fortunately there are still many Ruby Duncans Contents Acknowlcdgments ......................vi PART I IN THE BEGINNING PART III TERREY HILLS The geophysical formation . .. .. .. 2 The Terrey family ..................... 24 The Red Cross ........................62 Eccle ton du Faur .. .. .. .. .. .. 2 The Hills family ....................... 26 The Clubs ............................62 The Aborigines. .. .. .. .. .. .. 2 Early settlers.......................... 29 Senior Citizens' Club .................62 The explorers .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 3 The Waldon family ................... 29 Boy Scouts and Cubs .................62 The timbergetters. .. .. .. .. .. .. 4 The Brown family ................... 30 Girl Guides and Brownies .............64 The Barrie (Williams) family .......... 33 Rotary .............................65 The Duncan family ................... 36 Apex ..............................65 PART II DUFFYS FOREST The Curry family ....................41 Sporting Clubs ........................66 The temporary residents .. .. .. 6 The Progress Association ...............42 Cricket Club ........................66 The permanent settlers .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 8 The schools ........................... 44 Terrey Hills Rugby Union Football Club.66 The Volunteer Bush Fire Brigade .........12 Terrey Hills Public School ............ 44 Soccer Club .........................67 The Progress Association ...............13 Sydney Japanese School ............... 48 Terrey Hills Rugby League Club .......67 Development .......................... 15 West Head Progressive School (Eramboo)49 The Churches .........................68 Kinma .............................50 Methodist (now Uniting) Church ....... 68 Northern Beaches Christian School ...... 50 s·t. Paul Anglican Church .............68 The Armenian School................. 50 St. Anthony-in-the-Fields ..............69 The preschool and kindergarten ........51 Industrial and commercial development .... 70 The Post Office ....................... 52 Roads ...............................72 The Volunteer Bush Fire Brigade .........54 Local place and Street names ............73 The Community Centre ................. 56 The first lease holders in Terrey Hills The Library ..........................59 and Duffys Forest .....................74 Acknowledgments Dick Smith, publisher of Australian Harold, Suzanne, Margaret and Cecil Hills, Rodney Maroc, Joan and Neville Cooper, Geographic, asked me to write a short history 'Todge' Terrey, Hilarie Lindsay, Aub Alex Comino, Norman and Diane Pounder, of Terrey Hills and Duffys Forest as a Brewer, M. Boyd, Ted and Lynne Carrol, Margaret White, Pauline Johnstone, John Bicentenary gift from the journal to the William Eason, Ada McKay, Sue Manship, Weston, Graham Brown, Harry and Judy people living in this area. This is a 'potted' Len Melrose, Lyn Emmerson, Marilyn Dunn, Sister Leonie Martin, Michael history for their enjoyment and perhaps for Wilkinson, Joe and Elio Milotic, Helen Geraghty, Sandra Murray, Elwyn Lade, future historians to build on. Assisting me Coleman, Arthur Wakeman (of the Lands Elizabeth Whitehead, Arthur Russell, Elwyn greatly by supplying information, Department), Ross Perry, Nan Bosler, Pam Smith and Peter Nixon. and George Langsford, Ray Bale, Barbara photographs, maps, documents and lots of Last but not least, to my stalwart team of encouragement, I must thank the people of Brown, Pastor B. Wright, Yutaka Akagi, Sue Matthews, Mondy Marvell, Penny Rose, L. Margaret Terry and Lesley Dow, typist and Terrey Hills and Duffys Forest, and in editor respectively, grateful thanks. particular: Johannes, John McCallum, Peter Hart-Brown, Janet and Frank Beckman, Elaine Mullen, Tom and Maisie Birch, Evelyn and Peter Keith and Daphne Joiner, Brenda Williams, Duncan, Audrey Roper, Helen Apitz, John Mary Newlinds, Vince and Davida Duffy, Rose, John Sidoti, David Ryan, Bob Webster, vi PART I IN THE BEGINNING 1805 George Caley explores area from Pennant Hills to Terrey Hills 1832 Larmer surveys area of Duffys Forest and Terrey Hills 1830s Timbergetters' bullock teams pass through area en route from Pittwater to Fiddens Wharf 1856 First land in area offered for sale 1857 First land grant of 100 acres to Peter Joseph Duffy 1894 Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park gazetted The Geophysical Formation which is still standing. Always interested in Two hundred million years ago, during the flora, faunaand park.lands, which he termed 'the Triassic period, when giant reptiles roamed the lungs of the land', he commenced a campaign to earth and strange plants flourished in the forests, induce the government to set aside the area the Sydney region consisted of a large adjacent to the Hawkesbury River and Cowan sedimentary basin - the sandy deposits Waters as a national park. The then Minister for gradually converting to sandstone and the mud Lands refused, arguing that he considered there to shale. The uplift during the Pliocene era were already enough parks forthe people. created a plateau with dissecting streams often Undeterred, Eccleston invited the Governor 180-200 metres above sea level. This formed of New South Wales, Lord Jersey, to a private what we now know as the Hawkesbury picnic in the beautiful Cowan Creek area where Sandstone area that produced unique species of he indicated the advantages of a national park, flora and fauna, with more varieties than in the not only for the enjoyment of present and future whole of Great Britain. Part of this area, generations, but also forthe preservation of the formingthe northern, western and southern unique species and priceless relics left by the boundaries of Terrey Hills and Duffys Forest nomadic Aborigines. The day was a complete known as Ku-ring-gai Chase. For the success; the Governor, overwhelmed by the preservation of this area as a national park we beauty, peace and solitude of the place, are indebted to Eccleston du Faur. immediately added his ·vote to Eccleston's pleas for preservation. On 14 December 1894 a notice appeared in the Government Gazettereserving 35 800 acres Eccleston du Faur (14 500 hectares) as a National Park to be The du Faur familywere descendants of Count known as Ku-ring-gai Chase, with Eccleston du du Faur of Pibrac, Tourlous, France. Count du Faur serving as Secretary and Managing Trustee Faur was imprisoned in France during the until 1903. French Revolution. Escaping in 1794 he fled to England, where